Factor Influencing Youth Self-Employment Opportunities Driven by Agriculture Activities: A Case Study of Arumeru

This research investigated youth agricultural self-employment within the Arumeru District of Tanzania, utilizing a mixed-methods strategy that included a survey of 400 young individuals based on Yamane's formula and 15-20 in-depth interviews with key informants. The study identified High Youth Interest (B=0.067, p<0.05), Government/NGO Support (B=0.057, p<0.05), and Strong Market Demand (B=0.054, p=0.05) as crucial factors driving youth engagement, while Land Access (p=0.052) and Capital (p=0.051) were found to be almost significant obstacles. Demographic patterns revealed that participation peaked among those aged 21-25 years (35%), in contrast to only 15% among individuals aged 31-35 years, and highlights gender disparities in access to resources, with 65% of land owned by males, while 72% of leadership roles in processing were held by females. This leads to the suggestion for implementing gender-sensitive reforms in land and finance, developing enhanced digital market infrastructures, providing expanded climate-smart training, and fortifying youth cooperatives to mitigate systemic challenges and promote inclusive opportunities in agricultural entrepreneurship.